At 1:13 PM yesterday, a JetBlue flight from Boston to the Dominican Republic was forced to land at Washington-Dulles International Airport. An unruly passenger was the cause, according to both the airline and federal officials. Fortunately, flight attendant Steven Slater was otherwise occupied and thus couldn’t be on hand to make a bad situation worse.
The passenger was taken into custody at the Washington, DC-area airport, though a JetBlue spokesman said he couldn’t provide more details about what prompted the landing and subsequent interaction with the feds. Nobody was hurt, according to JetBlue. A security official familiar with the situation, reports the Associated Press, says that the “passenger may have had an anxiety attack,” but a doctor hasn’t weighed in with an official diagnosis.
The Associated Press has unearthed an internal JetBlue memo, and it’s pretty clear that the airline doesn’t view disgruntled flight attendant Steven Slater as a hero. In fact, JetBlue‘s memo has characterized his actions as inexcusable.
Even if Slater was reacting to an uncooperative passenger, JetBlue isn’t interested in his excuses. The company’s chief operating officer, Rob Maruster, wrote in the memo, “If Mr. Slater’s story proves to be accurate, and even if there was a precipitating event that motivated his behavior, that still doesn’t excuse his actions.”
And, let’s not forget that Slater was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. He entered a plea of “not guilty” and is out on $2,500 bail. According to a report by MyFoxNY, he faces felony charges.
Perhaps the most frightening part of the Slater saga – aside from the fact that a person whose “primary job is safety,” as the flight attendants like to say, lost his mind in something that’s nowhere near a crisis situation – is that he could have injured or killed somebody.The fact that he deployed an emergency slide, notes the memo, is “the most distressing aspect” of the situation. According to The Associated Press report:
“Slides deploy extremely quickly, with enough force to kill a person,” the letter to employees read. “Slides can be as dangerous as a gun.”
Maruster added that the “episode does not reflect the professional and sincere service you deliver to our customers every day.”
Fortunately, when he used this “gun,” Slater also had a beer in his hand. This guy might be getting the “hero” treatment by working folks everywhere, but here’s the question nobody seems to be asking: would you want to rely on him where you work?
Illustrator Christoph Niemann flew from New York to Berlin, and used his incredible talent to describe the kind of hell you go through when you fly long haul. In his brilliant drawings, you’ll see everything from the armrest battle to that weird taste in your mouth when you wake up after your short nap.
Oh, and the little hole at the bottom of the airplane window allows for pressure differential and prevents your window from fogging up. Now you know!
The man whose father was a pilot and mother was a flight attendant has the aviation industry “in his blood” says his Legal Aid defense attorney, Howard Turman, who continues, “That’s what he likes to do.” Of course, the fact that Slater has a funny way of showing it went unmentioned.
According to USA Today:
“His hope is to return to the aviation business,” Turman is quoted as saying by The Associated Press. AP writes that “Turman portrayed his client as hardworking, loyal and surprised by his own overnight fame. Slater ‘wants to thank the world for its understanding,’ Turman said, referring to the Internet and media response to his client’s public unraveling.”
And, Slater wants to go back to JetBlue. After all, Slater believes, according to Turman, “JetBlue is a wonderful airline which he (Slater) has loved working for, and wishes to continue working for. He understands the problems, but it has been a fair and understanding airline.”
Now, it seems, the limits of that understanding will be tested. JetBlue seems unlikely to welcome the wacky flight attendant back with open arms, according to an internal memo covered by the Wall Street Journal. Though the story of how Slater bailed hasn’t been corroborated, the airline says his actions were “unacceptable.”
Duh.
Fortunately, there are many opportunities open to him, especially if he can get Hertz to give him O.J. Simpson’s old gig. Slater clearly knows how to make a run through an airport.
How much can Steve Slater milk his 15 minutes of fame? The coverage has come quickly, and Slater has started to become a bit more comfortable with it. Reports are coming in that he wasn’t satisfied with his job (you think?), and it’s clear that this could be seen as a major opportunity for something of a career change for him.
Major talent agencies are unlikely to sign anyone who doesn’t have a background in a craft such as acting or writing. Companies that book reality TV stars and celebrities of varying degrees as guest speakers might be a more logical fit.
After he runs through the late-night talk show circuit, Slater will be finished. At that point, he’s likely to be another unemployed flight attendant … though he won’t be able to blame market conditions.
Nonetheless, talk about Slater has run through the advertising business. Chris Raih, founder and managing director of Zambezi in Los Angeles, noted:
“People around the country seem to have followed this classic go-to-hell moment with voyeuristic glee,” he said. “They want to root for him even more in a recessionary environment when many have gobbled up their anger.”
The real risk with using Slater in a commercial, according to Raih, is that it takes a few weeks to shot one, and even more time to get the campaign off the ground. By then, he’ll probably be irrelevant.